Aston Villa manager Steve Bruce is plotting to let Tommy Elphick head out on loan only if he can bring in another defender on a temporary deal before Friday’s deadline, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The newspaper claim on their website that the 30-year-old had turned down the option to move from Villa Park during the permanent window in a bid to fight for his place under Bruce, but having been left out of the club’s league squads in recent games, he is growing frustrated.
However the manager is said to be working on a one in, one out policy involving his enforcer, with limited options at the back already, but that he has other areas of the squad he would like to strengthen in a last ditch loan effort.
Opinion
Bruce is absolutely right in being wary of letting Elphick leave Villa Park without added reinforcements coming in before Friday’s deadline. The Villans cannot afford to find themselves bare in any position if they are to make a meaningful push for promotion this season, and already they are looking low on numbers in the centre back role. While the 30-year-old might not be up to the standards expected of a regular starter, he makes an adequate back up option, and while he might well be frustrated about his lack of first team action, he has to put the club before himself in this situation. Bruce is not a commanding manager and would no doubt like to send Elphick away in order to give him the action he wants but he simply cannot warrant sanctioning an exit deal if he cannot find someone to fill what is already a rather large void at the heart of the defence.